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Construction crews and drones searched the debris pennsylvania Part of a nursing home building collapsed on Wednesday, a day after a powerful explosion killed at least two people and left several residents missing.
Emergency responders from across the region dug through debris and pulled residents out amid flames, smoke, the strong smell of gas and even a second explosion, the governor said. Josh Shapiro Said at a press conference Tuesday night.
Explosion in 174 bedded nursing home bristol township, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of philadelphiaThe incident occurred when utility crews responded to reports of a gas smell at the facility, officials said. While investigators are probing whether a gas leak caused the explosion, officials cautioned that the conclusion is preliminary.
City Fire Chief Kevin Dippolito said at a news conference Tuesday evening that five people were still missing, but he cautioned that some may have left the scene with family members.
Officials said the first report of the explosion at the Bristol Health and Rehab Center came in around 2:15 p.m. Tuesday. Dippolito described a chaotic rescue in which firefighters found people trapped in staircases and elevator shafts and evacuated residents through windows and doors. Two people were rescued from the collapsed portion of the building.
Firefighters handed the patients over to police officers waiting outside, Dippolito said, including one officer “who literally threw two people over his shoulders.” Rescue workers used sniffer dogs, heavy equipment and sonar to locate possible victims.
Willie Tye, who lives about a block away, said he was watching a basketball game when he heard a loud noise.
“I felt like a plane or something had fallen on my house,” he said. When he went outside he saw that everywhere was on fire and people were running from the building.
The local gas utility, PECO, said its workers were responding to reports of a gas smell when the explosion occurred. The company said it has shut off natural gas and electric service to the facility for the safety of first responders and nearby residents.
“It is not known at this time whether PECO equipment or natural gas was involved in this incident,” the utility said in a statement.
Investigators from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission went to the scene. A spokesman for the utility commission said the explosion could not be confirmed to be caused by a gas leak until investigators could examine the site.
Musulin Watson, who said she was a certified nursing assistant at the facility, told WPVI-TV that staff smelled gas over the weekend, but initially did not suspect any serious problems because there was no heat in that room.
The nursing home recently became affiliated with Saber Healthcare Group and was formerly known as Silver Lake Healthcare Center.
Saber described the explosion as “devastating” in a statement and said facility personnel reported the smell of gas to PECO immediately before the explosion. The company said it is cooperating with authorities to ensure the safety of residents, employees and the surrounding community.
State inspection records show the facility was cited by the Pennsylvania Department of Health for multiple violations during an October inspection, including failure to provide accurate floor plans, stairs to one level and properly maintaining fire extinguishers. Inspectors also cited the lack of required smoke barrier partitions designed to contain smoke on floors.
According to Medicare.gov, the facility underwent a standard fire safety inspection in September 2024 and received no citations. Medicare’s overall rating of the facility is listed as “well below average”, with a particularly poor rating for health inspection.
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Reported from Levi and Scolforo HarrisburgPennsylvania. Associated Press reporters Tassani Vejapongsa in Bristol, PA, Holly Remmer in Concord, NH, Michael Casey in Boston and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed.